September 3, 1921: The Miners Lay Down Arms
On account of many miners, their respect for their country and patriotism led them to the surrender and disbandment after the deployment of federal troups. Many miners being veterans, they refused to fire upon members of their own military.
Between September 4th and 8th of 1921, federal troops disarmed and sent home without incident nearly fifty-four hundred miners. Having dramatically restored peace and order, virtually without firing a shot and without army-induced bloodshed, General Bandholtz refused Governor Morgan's subsequent request for military posses to help civil authorities arrest miners wanted for violations of state laws (Laurie, 1991).
National and local papers covered the conflict through to its conlcusion. Local papers were filled from the begginningh with in-depth coverage of the fight. Serval national papers kept the battle in the headlines, but other relegated the conflict to back pages.
Local papers tended to support miners and their battle for unionization. National papers, however, told a story of unruly rebels who fought back at local law enforcfement without a cause.
- Title
- Miners Will Lay Down Arms, The Wheeling Intelligencer Front Page
- Creator
- The Wheeling Intelligencer
- Date
- September 3, 1921
- Description
- Front page of The Wheeling Intelligencer with articles about miners' surrender
- https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092536/1921-09-03/ed-1/seq-1/
- Rights
- No copyright
